tropical storm ida approaches. a short skirt at the center of controversy at near riots dividing a country. and now getting international attention. and the man who took this video explains the reaction of visitors to the zoo when they first thought a child had fallen into the lion's pen. good evening, i'm jim vance. >> i'm doreen gentzler. we begin with new and somewhat startling information about the warning signs before the shootings at ft. hood in texas. it now appears that the fbi had its eye on the suspected shooter and his correspondence with one of yemen's most wanted since 2008. but nidal hasan was deemed not a threat. jackie bensen joins us now with more. jackie? >> reporter: doreen, the word that the fed knew the suspect was attempting to contact people of al qaeda but the fbi says tonight there was no evidence of co-conspirators. ft. hood shooting suspect hasan

exchanged e-mails with a radical cleric known to u.s. intelligence officials. while still based at walter reed medical center, psychiatrist sent 10 to 20 e-mails to anwar al awlaki. the e-mails began in 2008 and continued into this year. in early 2000, two of the 9/11 hijackers showed up at a san diego mosque where al awlaki was then an imam. >> he is literally taking al qaeda propaganda, written by some of al qaeda's key leaders and translating it into english and interpreting it for a western audience. >> reporter: al awlaki now lives in yemen. his website calls the ft. hood shooter a hero. it says, how can there be any dispute of what he has done? hasan's questions were general, concerning the role of muslims in the u.s. military. t anything specific or alarming. the current leader of the falls church mosque today denounced both hasan and al aulaqi.

>> we offer no justification for his ungodly and heinous cowardly act of violence. >> reporter: hasan is said to be awake and talking under heavy guard at a texas hospital. he now has an attorney. >> until i meet with my client, i've advised appropriate military officials that no interviews, no interrogations should be conducted by law enforcement. >> reporter: fbi director robert mueller has ordered an internal investigation into his agency's handling of hasan's e-mails and president and mrs. obama head to texas tomorrow to take part in a memorial service for the ft. hood victims. jim, back to you. >> jackie bensen. thank you, jackie. the supreme court today refused to block the execution of john allen muhammad. that means he will be put to death in less than 24 hours now. muhammad's lawyers argue that he is mentally ill and should not be put to death for terrorizing the washington area back in

2002. the supreme court did not comment on its refusal to stay the execution. for many, the execution tomorrow will end a dark chapter in the the d.c. area's history. a year after 9/11, the terror the city felt during the sniper attacks is difficult to describe now. lives were lost, routines were changed. things as simple as buying groceries or pumping gas were no longer simple tasks. but not everyone deeply impacted by muhammad and his actions will be watching tomorrow. christ gordon has our report. >> i saw a flash of light. heard a gigantic sound. a window exploded and shots came in and i was just being shot. >> reporter: restaurant owner paul la ruthia was shot five times the night of september 5th 20shgs 02. he nearly died. the gunman was teenager lee void malvo, who shot and robbed him on orders of john allen muhammad. they stole the restaurant's streets and his laptop using the

cash to bankroll the sniper shooting spree. >> i knowhey bought the car with my money and fed themselves with my money and probably bought ammunition with my money. >> reporter: they used his laptop to map their travel and mark their kill sites with a skull and cross bones. when the snipers were cut, laruffa came face to face with muhammad, testifying as a prosecution witness in the virginia beach trial. the jury convicted muhammad of murdering dean meyers at a gas station in manassas, virginia, and unanimously voted for the death penalty. but as the execution date nears, laruffa says he doesn't plan to attend. >> i don't have to watch him die. i don't have to -- i will not get any satisfaction of seeing them die. i've gone on already with my life, and basically i -- i will take a day of my life to watch him die. >> reporter: muhammad's lawyers have filed an appeal with the u.s. supreme court arguing that he is mentally ill, submitting

an mri of his brain on the right showing a shrunken cortex as compared to a normal brain scan on the left. the jury in muhammad's virginia beach trial was not given evidence of mental illness or muhammad's alleged abuse as a child. juror elizabeth young says she may not have voted for the death penalty if she had the evidence. >> now that i have the information about muhammad's mental illness and the reason for the mental illness, i absolutely am convinced that the death penalty is not the right punishment in this case. i believe that if justice is done, justice is served by him being in prison for life. >> reporter: maryland attorney general douglas gants ler, who was then montgomery county state's attorney, said muhammad absolutely deserves to die. >> regardless of your view on whether or not you think we should have a death penalty in the state of maryland, we do have it and john muhammad is the poster child for the person who

should get it. >> reporter: few will forget the sniper's reign of terror, with so many victims, so much fear for the entire community. will the execution of john alan muhammad be the final chapter in this horror story? will it be closure to his victims? christ gordo chris gordon, news 4. tropicastorm ida is getting weaker as it approaches the united states but it's still battering parts of the gulf coast with heavy rains. this is video from the southwest coast of alabama tonight. bob ryan is here with more on ida's track and her impact. sfwhob. >> doreen, it will be a major rain producer. that's the impact. the winds have now decreased. you can see on the regional radar, and i will zoom into that, it is pretty much assure heading into mobile bay, mobile, alabama, but on the east side still very heavy rain. look at pensacola, seven inches

of rain today and after a very, very wet season, all wait from georgia on into louisiana, the threat from ida not so much the win winds. the tides will be well above average but flooding rains over the next couple of days. tell you more about any impact here. back to you. >> thanks, bob. coming up and to the -- president obama is moving closer to a decision on troop levels in afghanistan. mayor fenty responds to video that shows him using police escorts to bike on prohibited streets. employees at the zoo tell news 4 why a scene like this likely will play out again. two of the stars of the new "t

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. president obama is close to a decision on sending tens of

thousands of more troops to afghanistan. the number, we are told, probably will fall short of the 40,000 requested by america's top general there. sources in the administration tell the associated press the deployment could begin in january. the goal would be to defend ten important cities and townes there. white house spokesman robert gibbs said mr. obama will meet with top advisers again on wednesday. wto radio caught this xluzive video of mayor fenty biking, along with causing a backup through the red lights and he biked on routes norm closed to cyclists. when asked about the escorts today, the mayor stopped short of saying he had done anything wrong. >> you don't have any explanation as to why you had been breaking the law? >> if i did, i shouldn't have.

>> will you discontinue that practice sn practice? >> do i strike that balance each and every time i ride my bike? no. should i do a better job? yes. >> the mayor said he rides as much as possible and wishes coget out there more often. very close call caught at a train station in boston. a woman fell on the tracks just as a train was approaching. several people yelled and waved their arms to get the conductor's attention. the driver hit the emergency brake and managed to stop just in time. the woman was pulled from the tracks. she was not injured. police say she had been drinking. the conductor was given a standing ovation. still to come tonight -- new video from the attack in the lion's pen at the national zoo. and why zoo employees worry something like this could happen again. we'll explain how a young woman's skirt started near riots in brazil and forced the government to intervene. bob's back next with ida's potential impact on our area.

elaine reyes spoke with the national zoo officials and learned about the wild animals

they have. >> reporter: zoo officials are calling this a freak accident. because they're located next to rock creek park, it is not uncommon to see them wander into the zoo but it is very rare for one of those animals to end up in one of their enclosures. >> look over and see this thing to hit the top of the guardrail and just fell straight in the water and everybody thought it was a kid. people started yelling, screaming. >> reporter: it wasn't a child but a deer. and rob efren happened to have his camera ready as two female lions discovered what landed in their inclosure. >> i was bouncing back and forth taking pictures and videos thinking this was probably one of the coolest things i have seen in a while. the deer actually jumped between people, which was the surprising part. it was startled by something. i guess it thought it was an exit, just a fence or wall, not realizing it was going to jump 20 feet down. the lions came down, walking back and forth. one jumped in the water. the deer got away. and then the lion attacked the

second time. >> lion does. its natural instincts kicked in and the lion saw something in its area. this is my territory and responded. >> reporter: it's not clear exactly how the deer entered the zoo. the park is fully enclosed except for a small area which officials say was already be ago dressed. >> there's deer, there's fox, chipmunks, snakes there's a lot of things that we just can't keep from coming in here. we're very vigilant. we do our best. >> reporter: zoo staffers were eventually able to move the lion to get to the deer. the young adult doe didn't appear to be hurt but -- >> unfortunately, the injuries it sustained. it jumped far. it ran around far. and it was trapped and captured by the lion. it wasn't sustainable. >> reporter: rob posted his video on youtube and in less than 24 hours received more than 100,000 hits. >> lions do what they do best and this is instincts finally

kicking in. >> reporter: deer overpopulation has been a problem in this part of town. in fact in recent months, the national park service has considered options like sharp shooters and sterilization to control the problem. we're live in the northwest, elaine reyes, news 4. >> thanks, elaine. 120 dogs rescued from a missouri puppy mill began their rehabilitation in northern virginia tonight. an animal rescue group called a forever home is spearheading the effort. they say the puppies lived in filthy and crowded conditions. the animals arrived in our area over the weekend. volunteers say it will take about $500 per dog to prepare forefor them for adoption. the animals will be ready for permanent homes in about a month. "twiligh mania in fair oakes mall in fairfax county this evening. choe chokes me up. fans lined up to meet two stars from the latest installment in the vampire saga. doreen tells me this is big stuff but you have to have a

teenage daughter to understand it. there are two -- where was i? >> you were there! >> they got autographs, is what they did. they got autographs from the person who plays laurent and the one who plays chaos, who are apparently pretty cool people. the two portrays vampires in the new movie. they signed autographs and took some questions. the movie is called "new moon." it opens in theaters later this month and both of those stars will be dropping by the daily connection tomorrow at -- >> you're all choked up about this, aren't you? >> at 2:00 on news 4. it's hard to say. >> you're going to be there. >> without a shadow of a doubt. >> there are a lot of people planning their whole schedules around the opening. >> the good part is, they did not bite anybody in the neck out there tonight. >> that's true -- that we know of. >> that we know of. although it's a dark night. outside today, we have another mild day, another wonderfully warm day. our temperature today made it up

again in the low 70s. high temperature 72. outside right now, 55 degrees. talking about ida, the latest hurricane to hit the united states, november 30th, the end of this month. back in 1925. unnamed. didn't have names back then. can you see the temperatures down around florida still in the 70s. ida is not a hurricane, and it's barely now by the time it gets to shore a tropical storm. there you can see the circulation around it and that's really the only rain producer in the eastern united states, and some of the hey rains, what's left of it, you can get an idea, a little bit of the eye now, southern parts of louisiana. on the oeft east side, that ban of tropical rains continues to come in. it's right now 100 miles south-southwest of mobile, alabama. all of that moisture spreading up into georgia and eventually south carolina and later on into the week, north carolina. maybe a little bit around us. look at ft. pork, louisiana.

four inches of rain. winds gusted 25 miles an hour. no wind gusts today and i don't think there will be any rain to speak of. here's what's going to be on. there's the track. as it comes ashore tomorrow and later on tonight, and then because of high pressure building to the north t. will just sort of die out, make a turn towards the east and eventually movep off the coast. but because of that patternnd because of the slower movement, the blocking high pressure area, there will b eight to as much as ten inches of rain. that's the reason all the way to louisiana, on into mississippi and alabama, not only flood watches but flood warnings. overnight tonight and during the day tomorrow, they are the rains to our south. we, on the other hand, will be sort of between the hig pressure to our north and what's left of ida, causing some gusty winds out arrange the coast but really just a chance of some rain showers. temperatures tomorrow into the 60s. when you get up and head out, a little bit on the chilly side. nothing much.

i don't think there will be any rain. a lot of clouds around. tlab t hat will be the story tomorrow. temperatures up in the 60s, maybe 70 degrees. if we see any effects at all, that will be wednesday and that will be minimal. don't think too much of an effect here. most everything will be staying to the south. after that, chillier air coming in. the weekend, because we're ready for the weekend on a monday, looks pretty good now. no big effects from ida here. >> thank you, bob. coming up tonight -- celebrating the fall of the berlin wall. a court decision allows taxi drivers to watch tv on the job. and in sports, alex ovechkin

the guys are banged up, aren't they? >> they are banged up and bruised and beat down. now they have to find another way to fight through eight more games. >> eight? >> gate. the redskins are not only battling other opponents but right now they're also fighting the injury bug. the latest victim, safety chris horton, who will miss at least four to six weeks with a toe injury. offensive lineman mike williams out for at least the next two games and clinton portis, who will likely miss sunday's game because of a concussion he suffered yesterday. meanwhile, those still standing are left to right the ship with eight games left to play. we're in atlanta, where these rrngz' fans sent a message bac to redskins' team owner. jason campbell, sacked five times in the first half. the worst half of the season.

frustrations on both sides. arapio had two good plays but he said they're upset when they wake up in the morning. >> i'm mad. i'm irritable. 2-6 is not a good thing. my whole career, i have never been 2-6. we make a lot of mistakes we need to fix. losing can be contagious. you can see it. we have been losing week after week after week and it's not good. we have find a way to turn it around. >> once in a while or once in your career, will you go through a situation like this. this is my first time. i said once. when you dealt with it, you have to know you prepared urself to take it on throughout the stuff you go through daily preparing yourself for a season, knowing it will not be easy. knowing it might be a situation you can't climb out of. >> santana moss knows the redskins' schedule continues to be an uphill battle. next up -- 6-1 denver broncos who tonight found themselves in a monday night matchup against the pittsburgh steelers. let's go to denver.

>> take it on three, one, two, three, denver! >> that is how the broncos' brian duncan gets his team ready to go. the defense answered the call. third quarter, ben roethlisberger dropped back. look at kenny peterson. gets in there and causes the fumble. rookie robert ayers scooping it up, returning it 54 yards for the touchdown. denver broncos took a 10-7 lead. denver and their head coach josh mcdaniels all pumped up. but the steelers come back in their ensuing possession. big ben working out the shut gu gone hits hines ward. steelers leading 21-10 with minutes left to go. turning to the capitals, alex ovechkin said he was kidding when he told a reporter over the weekend he would be out a month. owe vich kin said he would miss another week likely.

ovechkin was able to skate around and take a few drills. this was an t easy part, he said. and the good news is he was playing pain-free. coach boudreau rolled him out for wednesday but right now it's get, o.v. back as quick as possible. >> i know everybody wants to know but we're thinking when he's better. alex's determination is when he wants to play. so if it was -- don't think wednesday san option, but i'm not counting anything out after that. >> capitals host the new york islanders on wednesday. so they'd love to have ovechkin back. if you think larry johnson could be coming to the redskins to fill in for clarett pointon por. it's not going to happen. up next -

tonight marks 209th anniversary of the one of the most traumatic events of the 20th century. it's the not the berlin wall came down. that wall divided east and west germany. 136 people were killed trying to cross it over the years. its demise in 1989 helped signal the end of the cold war and the end of communist -- communism in europe. today 1,000 colorfully decorated dominos were toppled to symbolize the wall falling, and

the resulting crumbling of communism in eastern europe. world leaders stood and cheered in celebration. a private college in south hallow, brazil, reversed its decision to expel a student after she wore a mini dress to class. cell phone videos show hordes of students yelling at the 20-year-old last month, although brazilian are famous for skimpy swimsuits, college campuses are more conservative. the young woman had to cover up with a lab coat while police escorted her out. national add va kits for students and women's policy blasted the school for expelling her and asked for more information. hours after that çóçóçóçñçñçó

did you know taxicab drivers in south korea are now legally allowed to watch tv while on the job? they do it using portable devices on their dashboard. it was once illegal, or you might have thought so, for good reason. but one took it to court and the judge ruled in favor of the driver because of an old law that